


Brother Let Me Be Your Shelter

by alistoney



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 1x07 missing scene, Angst, Gen, Sparring, mentions of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alistoney/pseuds/alistoney
Summary: It’s not a hard decision for Izzy to follow Alec out of the ops center.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood
Comments: 24
Kudos: 84





	Brother Let Me Be Your Shelter

**Author's Note:**

> This idea started with [this](https://twitter.com/alistoney1/status/1242210331465785346?s=21) tweet that I posted yesterday (I think??) and spiraled into 900+ words of Lightwood feels as it always seems to with me. 
> 
> Thank you to [Em](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemily/pseuds/thatnerdemily) who @ me in a writing sprint and thus made me actually write this down.
> 
> Title from Brother by NEEDTOBREATHE & Gavin DeGraw

Izzy watches him. The way his fingers curl around the railing, holding tight. So tight that his knuckles are white with it. 

Does no one else see it? How hard he’s trying to hide. Does Jace not realize the way he’s hurting him? 

Her big brother. 

It’s not a hard decision for Izzy to follow Alec out of the ops center. 

He’s walking fast, trying to get away from Jace and Clary as fast as possible. Izzy has to speed walk to try and catch up. 

She sighs when he turns towards the training room rather than the dormitories. The worst thing is that she’s not surprised. 

Alec thinks he hides it well. The bruises that could easily be healed with an iratze. The thin bow string lines cut into his hands. He underestimates how closely Izzy watches him. 

She might not always understand what goes on in his head. Doesn’t completely get why he believes he _has_ to hide. But she’s been watching him since she was a kid. She knows him, and she knows that Alec going to the training room right now isn’t a good thing.

“Alec!” 

Alec stills in the doorway of the training room but he doesn’t turn around.

“What?” 

Izzy clears the space between them in the hall and looks up at him. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She tries. 

“No.” 

“Alec—“

“Stop it Izzy,” he pushes away from her and stalks into the room, stripping off his jacket, throwing it to the ground and then turning back around to face her, “please, just stop.” 

He’s pleading with her. She’s familiar with that panic in his eyes. She’s seen it much too often these days. 

“Fine.” 

Izzy steps into the room, gathering her hair up into a ponytail and tying it tight. She levels Alec with a look. 

Alec looks back, questioningly. 

“Lets spar then,” she says, no room for argument. 

Alec huffs out what seems to be a frustrated breath.

“ _Izzy_.” 

Izzy crosses her arms and doesn’t budge. 

“Look,” she says, “you don’t want to talk? Fine. But I’m not going to let you beat a punching bag for the next god knows how long.” 

“I wasn’t going to—“ 

“I don’t believe you.” 

She knows she’s made him angrier but she doesn’t care. If she doesn’t find bruises on his knuckles tomorrow then she’s succeeded. 

When Alec just glares at her, she shrugs and picks two staffs from the wall, throwing one in Alec’s direction. 

He catches it, but his glare doesn’t waver. 

Most people would be intimidated at the prospect of sparring with Alec. He’s got a height and build advantage, he’s one of their best Shadowhunters, and he’s pissed off right now. 

Luckily, Izzy is just as good. _And_ she’s been sparring Alec since she could hold a weapon properly. 

Alec, stubborn as he is, doesn’t move, so Izzy arcs the staff towards his chest to force him to do something. 

He blocks it with his staff at the last moment. Izzy grins. 

“Oh, I _know_ you can do better than that, big brother.” 

Alec narrows his eyes at her and she sticks her tongue out at him before he pushes her away. 

When she steps backward and regains her footing she swears she sees the ghost of a smile on his lips. 

He doesn’t hold back after that, lunging straight at her with his whole body. 

Izzy barely sidesteps the blow and then quickly swipes at Alec’s legs. He stumbles but doesn’t fall and this time Izzy _knows_ she sees him smile. 

They end up circling each other. Izzy rests her staff on her shoulder easily and looks at Alec with raised eyebrows. 

“You know, bottling everything up can’t be healthy.” 

Alec just rolls his eyes. 

“Shut the fuck up,” he says without any heat. 

Izzy laughs and blocks the next barrage of blows he comes at her with. She knows his body language. Can tell where he’s thinking of striking before he gets there. She can do it almost as well as Jace can and that’s _without_ a soulbond helping her out. 

He’s stronger than she is though, and he’s backing her closer and closer to the wall. She’s not about to let him win. 

She uses all her strength to push against his next blow and then throws her leg out to push against his stomach, hard. 

He stumbles backwards but it isn’t enough to deter his unwavering attacks on her and soon she’s backed into the wall, Alec crowded in front of her. 

They’re both breathing hard and Alec stares at her a long moment before a small smile appears on his face. 

It’s the faintest quirk of lips and then it’s gone but Izzy grins anyway. 

“I win,” Alec says. 

Izzy keeps smiling. 

“Don’t let it get to your head.” 

He steps away from her, the weight that had been pressed into the staff at her chest disappearing. 

He taps her head with the end of the staff and she crinkles his nose at him. 

“No promises,” he mutters and then turns to walk back to the center of the room.

When he gets there, he spins around to look at her again and there’s an odd sort of look on his face. One Izzy can’t really decipher. 

“Thank you,” he says quietly.

Emotion swells in Izzy’s chest and she nods at him. 

“Anytime.”

She means it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Comments and Kudos make my day! 
> 
> Come talk to me (seriously I’m so bored)  
> Tumblr: [lightwormsiblings](https://lightwormsiblings.tumblr.com)  
> Twitter: [alistoney1](https://mobile.twitter.com/alistoney1)


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